Chapter 29: Cilit Bang
"How did you survive?" Was the first question Lex heard from his best friend, who he hadn't seen in two months. Clark had the beginnings of a beard and Lex had to admit it made him look good.
"I had a bunker deep underground in Metropolis. Jesse Quick helped me get into it when we heard what had happened. I told her to go and get other people and bring them hear, but she didn't return. I guess she got vaporised." Lex said simply, that Jesse had died caused him an unbearable amount of heartbreak, he'd never thought he'd love someone like he loved her.
"And why did it take you two months to get out?" Clark asked, his voice questioning rather than accusatory.
"I tried using every bit of tech I had in the bunker to communicate a message to the outside world, but nothing worked. I could receive the news but nothing more. Until a day ago when I finally got through. The transmissions tapped into something." Lex said.
"You would've tapped into Cyborg." Batman said simply.
"Cyborg?" Lex asked. "How?"
"A story for later." Clark said. "So, what do you know?"
Lex had known Clark for long enough to know that his friend was anxious. He did his best to put him at ease. "I know you revealed your identity to the world and that you and the League have been getting involved in disputes around the world, trying to keep things from spiralling again. I know that you've largely been successful but that various institutions are trying to undermine you." He paused and then added. "I approve of what you're doing by the way. From killing the Joker to getting more involved. I think you could do more and I'm willing to help."
"You are?" Clark asked sounding shocked.
Lex laughed. "We've been friends since we were thirteen Clark, through everything we've worked together. I'm not going to stand aside and let you mess this up on your own."
Clark laughed. "Well that's a relief."
"What's in it for you?" Came the question from Diana of Themiscyra, otherwise known as Wonder Woman.
"I get to help the world rebuild and ensure that the errors of the past are not made again." Lex said. That he was also trying to prepare Clark for the war that was coming with Darkseid he left unsaid. If he mentioned that now, that would just bring a whole host of other questions.
"There's one area we need your help." Batman said. "We need you to have a look at Cyborg."
"What's happened to him?" Lex asked. He'd met Cyborg, otherwise known as Victor Stone before. The kid was filled with energy but he wasn't too bright.
The Batman moved to the computers and typed up something, it brought up a screen which showed Victor thrashing about wildly, whilst he uttered numbers in a strange sequence. "His framework has slowly begun to disintegrate. We think it has something to do with the Mother Boxes."
"Mother Boxes?" Lex asked. He'd heard those words before, but where he wasn't quite sure.
"The things Darkseid uses to get into the world and to shape the world into what he wants it to be." The Batman said. "Victor is made up from one, and we think it's beginning to react to what's been happening."
Lex looked at the man blankly. "I'm not aware of any wider disturbance?"
"Darkseid's minion has appeared in New York as a preacher. He's won over many of the elite to his side, and other Mother Boxes have begun to react." Clark said.
"AH. So, it's likely that an attack is coming then." Lex replied, he knew one was coming, the visions in his mind would never leave him alone.
"Yes, and we need Cyborg to be back on functioning capacity so that we can better combat whatever Darkseid throws at us." Batman said.
Lex nodded that made sense. "I'll see what I can do. Where is he right now?"
"In a sub unit of the Hall of Justice." The Batman replied. "We moved him from New York."
"Okay, show me to him and I'll start working right away." Lex said.
"Surely you want a chance to have a shower and some food?" Clark asked sounding concerned.
Lex shook his head. "Clark, I've spent two months inside a bunker, I've done nothing but sit on my arse and do nothing. I want to be useful."
His friend nodded in acceptance. "Batman will show you where to go."
"Thank you." He walked up to Clark then and clapped him on the shoulder. "And Clark, I am sorry about Lois. I know how much you loved one another."
"Thank you." Clark said softly.
Lex nodded, then turned and walked to where the Batman was waiting, they then walked out and into the hallway, Lex said nothing for the first part of the walk, trying to process everything that was going on. If Cyborg was beginning to malfunction then that clearly meant Darkseid was further along in his plans than Lex had thought, which meant he would need to start looking into the Shining Knight sooner rather than later.
His thoughts were interrupted when the Batman spoke. "What else were you doing in that bunker?"
"Sorry?" Lex asked.
Batman stopped and turned to face him. "I know you, Luthor. You're far too smart to be just trying to tinker with the radio waves to get a signal. So, what were you doing, and why were you hiding it for Superman?"
Lex wanted to protest, but then he knew that the Batman would just find out on his own, thus making it easier for Lex to just tell him there and then. "I got stuck in a loop, one minute I'd be working on the radio waves and the next I'd be in a different place, a different plain."
"A different plain?" Batman asked, sounding not exactly doubtful, more curious.
"Yes, I could see and hear what was happening outside the bunker but I couldn't do anything about it. And there was one thing that kept repeating whenever this happened." Lex said shuddering as he thought about it.
"And what was that?" Batman asked.
An Englishman constantly referring to a failed cleaning product called Cilit Bang. Lex thought humourlessly, but in reality he said. "The destruction of the Justice League."
